


Three Michelin Stars, Kim Hongjoong!

by hannihoneybee



Series: Tell Me I'm the One You Want! [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Kim Hongjoong is a Whipped Boyfriend, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Seonghwa's Cooking Adventures, for like 5 seconds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21713230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannihoneybee/pseuds/hannihoneybee
Summary: Hongjoong thinks he might be in love with Park Seonghwa.Now, if only he can survive his cooking long enough to tell him that.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Series: Tell Me I'm the One You Want! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1564993
Comments: 25
Kudos: 240





	Three Michelin Stars, Kim Hongjoong!

Seonghwa is amazing.

The older man has too many skills to count and Hongjoong could, with a starry-eyed, sparkling tone, name them off without end. He’s terrifyingly competent and manages to captain the school’s dance team as well as still be top of the class. He’s absolutely amazing, balancing Hongjoong out and fitting into his life like he was meant to be there. Seonghwa is absolutely breathtaking and on most days, Hongjoong wouldn’t hesitate to call his platinum blonde hyung perfect.

Except.

One little thing.

He looks down at the plate in front of him, and up at Seonghwa, and then back again at his plate. Despite how much he loves Seonghwa’s face, he can’t help but feel his gaze continue to fall downward at the table. He looks up again to see Seonghwa smiling at him. It’s a tentative smile, a far cry from the (infuriatingly hot) confident smirk he had when they first met or the vaguely pained smile he has whenever Mingi breathes too closely near something breakable. It’s sweet, but hesitant, and it’s their first date and Hongjoong should be absolutely thrilled because he’s been pining for weeks ever since the beautiful blonde strolled into his introductory statistics course.

Except.

Hongjoong didn’t even know rice could look like this. It’s looks like a gelatinous blob but he can clearly see the stark white center of uncooked rice. The kimchi smells strong, but not in a good way. It would make a more sensitive man weep with how much just being in proximity of it burns his eyes.

“Looks delicious.” He’s a fucking liar, but the way Seonghwa’s smile widens and he clasps his hands together in front of him makes his heart weak. He can’t tell him he’d rather die than shove this food into his mouth. Has Seonghwa even ever been criticized before? He thinks it might break the taller man down to pieces if he said something.

“Should I dig in?”

Seonghwa nods in excitement, his smile reaching sunshine levels of bright.

_ God _ , Hongjoong thinks,  _ he’s so fucking beautiful. _

He keeps thinking that thought as he picks up a piece of kimchi and places it on top of a scoop of rice and shoves the meal into his mouth. Oh.

Oh  _ no.  _ Hongjoong feels like he’s dying. Is this what dying feels like? Is the world ending? He’s read about how it feels to have a heart attack, he thinks this might be it. His whole mouth is on fire and it’s not even the pleasant fire of a good spicy kimchi. No, it feels like he poured hydrochloric acid down his throat and finished it off with a guzzle of bleach. Oh god. Oh god why did he do this. How is he going to say goodbye to his mom? Will Seonghwa tell her? He still has a song he needs to finish-

“How do you like it?”

Hongjoong opens his eyes to peek at Seonghwa, who is smiling so kindly and beautifully at him.  _ Think of how beautiful he is _ , Hongjoong tells himself,  _ think of his mile long legs and how they wrap so nicely around your waist. You will never fuck anyone as beautiful as him again. _

“Yep. Tastes like my mom’s.”

Seonghwa claps in excitement as Hongjoong manages to shove another spoonful of rice into his mouth.

Someone save him.

* * *

On the bright side of things, Hongjoong gets invited to  _ study  _ with Seonghwa more often after the breakfast debacle.

On the darker side, it seems his compliment to Seonghwa’s cooking has convinced Seonghwa he’s a great cook. For a moment, Hongjoong had considered it’s possible Seonghwa just makes really bad kimchi and hasn’t invested in a good rice cooker.

That thought is quickly demolished and lit aflame.

“I made mochi,” Seonghwa announces as he walks into the studio. He’s been given free reign over his entry into the campus recording studios ever since he charmed Eden into adopting him as dongsaeng.

_ It can’t be that bad _ , Hongjoong thinks. Then he sees them.

They look like they’ve been through death.

“Oh? I love mochi!” Yunho and Yeosang shuffle over at the mention of food. Seonghwa nods and puts the plate down on a table. As his back turns, Hongjoong crosses his arms in an X and shakes his head desperately. He begs his best friends to understand his telepathic message:  _ Do Not Do It.  _

The two of them look properly alarmed. They should. They’ve seen Hongjoong guzzle down Fire Chicken Ramen sauce as a chaser for vodka when he ran out of sprite. If he says Seonghwa can’t cook, it means he  _ really can’t cook. _

“Do you want some? I made them for Joongie, but there should be enough to share!”

“Actually, I’m on…a diet. Yeah. I’m dieting.” Yunho’s lips push up into an awkward smile and Hongjoong curses his best friend’s inability to lie. His fucking ears are already turning red under Seonghwa’s gaze. Yeosang doesn’t do any better with a stuttered excuse about not liking sweets. “Anyways, we gotta go. Wooyoung’s calling us. Bye!”

They stumble out of the studio in a hurry and Hongjoong thinks this is what being abandoned in the battlefield feels like.

Seonghwa blinks in confusion before turning to Hongjoong with a smile. “I thought Wooyoung had class right now. But, more for you then!”

_ Be a good fucking boyfriend. _ Hongjoong forces himself to be strong and take one of the mochi.  _ Oh God, it’s so hard. Why is it hard. Mochi is a soft, chewy dessert. Why does it feel like he picked up a brick? _

“It’s my first time making them, so I hope they turned out okay.”

They did not turn out okay! Hongjoong shoves it into his mouth in one bite, mentally weeping as he can feel his teeth crunch on something hard. Why did his teeth crunch? Mochi is soft! Even past the texture, the flavor is completely off. Hongjoong wonders if this is punishment for his sins as a child. God saw him blame Yunho for taking the last cookie at dessert time in kindergarten when it was actually him and now he’s forcing him to seek forgiveness by way of eating Seonghwa’s cooking. 

“They’re great,” he says, mouth full of dry, crunchy rice flour. “Fucking amazing.”

Seonghwa smiles and leans down to kiss his cheek gently. “I’m glad. I have more at home if you want to come over later.”

He runs his hand up Hongjoong’s thigh as he speaks and Hongjoong forces himself to think about how hot Seonghwa is as he swallows the Devil’s Concoction.

“Yay.”

* * *

Seonghwa sits on Hongjoong’s lap, blocking his view of the TV screen. Hongjoong used to think he was a butt person, but Seonghwa may have convinced him flat asses have rights.

Even if he is still a little disappointed it doesn’t jiggle when he slaps it.

“Hey babe.” He feels himself smile. Despite having been together for almost a month now, he still hasn’t gotten over the novelty of calling Seonghwa  _ babe.  _ It’s almost as good as the blush that continues to spread across the older man’s cheeks whenever he says it.

“Hey yourself, babe.” Seonghwa swoops in for a soft kiss. “You wanna eat something?

Hongjoong feels his body tense. He thinks Seonghwa has conditioned him to fear food at this point. Last weekend, he flinched away from Yeosang’s offering of a brownie. A  _ brownie.  _ Made by  _ Yeosang.  _ It was having some negative effects on his appetite.

“Nah,” he replies, but his traitorous stomach growls right as he speaks. He can’t even trust his own stomach anymore.  _ You know we don’t want this,  _ he thinks, _ you can’t be tricked by his legs and face too! _

Thankfully, Seonghwa just laughs. “Let’s order chicken. I have a coupon somewhere from Wooyoung.”

Yes. Yes. Thank you, Wooyoung.

Seonghwa gets off of him and god, he’s so beautiful. Hongjoong thinks he could die a happy death if it was between Seonghwa’s legs. He meanders over to where his cell is and rifles through his drawer for the coupon.

Hongjoong leans back into the couch, feeling content until Seonghwa calls his name.

“They’re overrun with orders right now, so they said they wouldn’t be able to even think about our order for at least an hour.”

He could wait an hour.

“So, I’m just gonna make something instead. Okay?”

Fucking damn it.

Hongjoong feels his heart wither. “I’m not that hungry anyways!”

“Your stomach just growled, Joongie. You’ve been overworking yourself lately. I just want to take care of you and ease your stress.”

_ Your cooking causes me stress! _

“Haha, yeah. You’re right. Thanks, hyung.”

Seonghwa smiles and kisses him again (God, he’s such a good kisser) before walking over to the kitchen to…cook.

The monstrosity Seonghwa ends up serving him…could possibly be in the realm of bulgogi. It looks like meat. Kind of. It’s nearly entirely black, dry bits of charcoal clinging to what has to be beef.

He hesitantly picks up a piece. More bits of charcoal come off, raining down on his plate like black snowflakes.

He can do this. He’s got this. He’s braved more terrifying things than burnt beef. He shoves it in his mouth and feels his teeth crunch over the burnt beef. He didn’t know one could fuck up bulgogi like that. He  _ saw _ Seonghwa take the raw meat out of the ready-made marinated packs you can buy at the supermarket. He  _ knows  _ all Seonghwa had to do was put it in a pan and cook it.

Why does it taste like cardamom?

“How is it?” Seonghwa asks.

“I love it, babe.”

* * *

Hongjoong reaches his breaking point when Seonghwa slides over what he  _ says  _ is kimchi jjigae. It’s just soup. Why is it so intimidating to look at? Why does it look like there’s the top of a carrot in there?

“Oh no.”

It comes out without meaning to and Hongjoong quickly slaps both his hands over his mouth as he says it. Fuck.

Seonghwa sits down across from him with his own bowl. “Hm?”

And he looks so beautiful, his hair starting to fall into his eyes (as Hongjoong has learned Seonghwa’s hair does exist in forms other than perfectly styled and pushed back sexily) and he’s smiling so sweetly and Hongjoong thinks he loves him and maybe he can eat a bite if only to stay in Seonghwa’s heart. If only to continue to be allowed to wake up to Seonghwa’s cute mumbling and the way he scrunches his nose when he hears his alarm. If-

Then he sees it again and spies a whole head of onion in his bowl and Hongjoong realizes he can’t do this.

“Hwa. Babe.” His voice cracks like a middle schooler’s. “I can’t do it. I can’t do it anymore. If this means you’re going to break up with me and never want to see me again, I’m so sorry. I really love you, you know, but I can’t do this. I can not continue on, it is just not humanly possible, I feel like I’m going to physically  _ die  _ if I try it.”

“What are you talking about, Joongie?” Seonghwa looks so confused and his lips are turning downward and his beautiful eyes wavering and Hongjoong feels like the worst person in the  _ world.  _ His head falls into his hands as he lets out a cry of despair.

“I can’t eat your food, Hwa. I just can’t. It’s. You’re the worst cook ever. I’m so sorry. I’ve lied to you for months.”

He hears a choked noise from Seonghwa’s direction, sounding almost like he’s about to cry. God. He’s made Seonghwa cry, hasn’t he? He’s the utter shit. The worst person to ever walk the Earth. Eden’s going to fire him and Jongho’s going to beat him up and he’s going to deserve it. He’s too afraid to look up and see Seonghwa cry. He doesn’t think he’d be able to survive it.

He can fear the screech of Seonghwa’s chair as he pushes himself out of his seat. Footsteps become distant and he can hear the door to Seonghwa’s bedroom slam shut.

Fuck.

He’s about to start crying himself when Seonghwa walks back out of the room and into the kitchen. The older man doesn’t look like he’s been crying, although his cheeks are pink. Seonghwa pouts for a moment before cracking a smile. He giggles, infuriatingly cute, before schooling his face to seriousness again.

“Seonghwa?”

The older man’s face cracks into another cute smile. “Ah, Joongie, I know.”

“What?”

Seonghwa giggles again. “I know I’m a bad cook.”

“No, you don’t. You think you’re great.”

“No, I know. I’m a terrible cook.”

Hongjoong is confused. “Babe, if this is to save face-”

“No. I know. I’ve always known. My mom’s banned me from the kitchen for a reason. I was shocked when you said you liked my breakfast, I won’t lie. I thought maybe I had done something right, but then I tasted it myself and-”

“Wait, all this food you’ve given me. You  _ knew  _ it was bad?”

“Well. No. I mean. Kind of? I just.” Seonghwa trails off, his cheeks turning significantly redder and the gremlin part of Hongjoong’s lizard brain says he looks hot. Not the time, lizard brain. He’s supposed to be upset! Angry! His unbelievable hot boyfriend has been poisoning him! Running the long con! This is upsetting news!

Seonghwa looks down in embarrassment, fingers restlessly picking at the ends of his sweater. “I just thought it was nice. Y’know? That you were pretending my food was good.”

Oh no.

Seonghwa looks a little devastated by Hongjoong’s silence. “I’m sorry. I. No one’s ever. I understand you’re upset. I just liked it. That you liked me so much that you’d pretend.”

Oh  _ no. _

Hongjoong’s lizard brain is throwing away his anger in a fit.  _ No! We are upset! _ His lizard brain disagrees.  **Seonghwa pretty** , it hisses.

_ No! _

The older man sighs and Hongjoong can see his eyes getting glassy.

Fuck. Hongjoong can’t be upset at him.

“It’s okay, Hwa.”

“No, it’s not. I shouldn’t have lied to you. I’m sorry.” Seonghwa’s face crumbles and Hongjoong gets up from his chair to stand in front of his boyfriend. He’s so whipped. He should let Seonghwa apologize, but seeing him upset makes his heart hurt.

“I forgive you. It’s okay.”

He grabs Seonghwa’s hands and shakes them until Seonghwa looks at him. He still looks upset and Hongjoong tip toes to press soft kisses to his dumb face until he starts to giggle again.

_ Ah, there it is. _

“I forgive you, Seonghwa. Just. Make me one promise.”

Seonghwa nods. “Anything you want.”

“Please never cook again.”

Seonghwa laughs wetly, removing one of his hands from Hongjoong’s grasp to wipe at his face.

“Okay. I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hehe, thank you for reading! Poor Hongjoong is still having stomach problems from the last time Seonghwa made him kimchi fried rice...
> 
> Please give me love and follow me on twitter @bloominghannie!


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